The Living Dead
by OnTheBrinkOfInsanity
Summary: "What did you do in the summer?" "I died." How many people can say that? I can.
1. Chapter 1

**I had this idea just a couple of minutes ago, so… I'm writing it. It's not like what I usually write, and my first HOA story that's not Jara centric, but I hope you like it!**

_What did you do in the summer?_

I died.

Strange answer, isn't it? But, it's true. Although, I'm still confused about my status. I'm dead, but even so, I can see and hear everything. I can even see myself, lying dead on the hospital bed.

You're wondering how I died, aren't you?

"_Amber, hurry up!" Nina called from across the road. I was completely entranced by the window display in my favourite boutique. Sadly, I'd spent all of my money just hours before on a shopping spree with my best friends, Nina and Mara._

"_Alright, fine, I'm coming." I peeled my eyes away from the beautiful shoes and tottered across the road._

"_Watch out!" Mara yelled. "The car, the car!" _

_I looked to my left and saw what she was talking about. A black Mercedes was speeding towards me. Luckily, I ran out of the way before it could do any damage, and even managed to save the bags in my hands._

_Nina and Mara both breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed hold of my arms._

"_You need to be more careful." They warned,_

"_Guys," I escaped their grasps and turned to face them, walking backwards. "Relax, I'm Amber Millington. Nothing ca h-"_

And, I died. Apparently, there was a road behind me and a red pick-up truck had decided to just… run me over.

I stand next to myself (Sounds weird..) and look around. My face is pale, a lot paler than usual and my whole body is limp and lifeless. I wonder why the haven't put the cover over my face, like they do in the movies. Stupidly, I try to do it myself, but my hands pass straight through the white sheet. I'm a ghost. Or… am I.

I hear the door open and Mara, Nina, Patricia and Joy walk in. All of them have tear streaked faces, except for Mara who's still crying. I want to cry with them, comfort them, or even at least have them know that I'm here. I wave my hands in front of them, but when they don't react, I give up and surrender back to my space next to my bed.

"Amber," Joy whispers, being the first to approach my limp form. Patricia follows close behind her but Nina and Mara seem to be unable to come any closer.

"It had to happen some day." Patricia say, voice hoarse, putting a hand on Joy's shoulder.

"Why now?" she argues. "Why her? She was too young."

Eventually, Mara takes a few steps forward, standing on the other side of me. I moved over. Mainly because I was scared of what was to happen if she walked through me. Would it hurt? Am I even capable of feeling?

"I'm sorry, Amber." She sobs. But, I'm confused as to why she's apologizing.

"Mara," Patricia cuts in. "It's not your fault."

She doesn't answer, merely sniffs and holds my hand tighter. Looking back at Nina, I realize that she is the only one who hasn't said anything.

"Nina?" I try, but as expected, nobody hears.

The door opens again, and in comes Eddie, Jerome, Fabian, Mick and… Alfie. He looks shattered. They all do. They rush in but stop, seeing my body and the girls crying around me. Instantly, there are tears in Alfie's eyes. He all but runs up to me and hugs my dead self. Mara, Patricia and Joy step back, allowing him some space. Eddie comes to Patricia's side, grabbing hold of her hand and stroking it comfortingly. Nina runs forward, burying her face into the crook of Fabian's neck. Jerome holds Mara in his arms, as she cries.

Watching all of this, I can't help but feel that it's all my fault.

**So… is it worth continuing?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I got a good response, so I'm carrying on. :) Thanks for your reviews! Also, I don't usually write in first person or in the present tense so sorry for any mistakes, I'm still getting used to it.**

"Nina," I know that she can't hear me but I can't just sit here and watch her cry. "Nins, I'm here, don't cry."

She sat in the hospital waiting room, cross legged and head in her hands. Fabian is next to her, an arm comfortingly around her shoulders.

If it were possible for me to cry, I'd be bawling.

"Nina, it's ok, don't cry." Fabian tries. I nod in agreement.

"No, it's not." She sobs. "It's not ok." She gets up to leave but Fabian grabs her hand.

"Nina." He sighs. She glances down at him but yanks her hand away, disappearing off down the corridor. My attention turns to Fabian.

The unshed tears make his eyes glisten and his face is even paler than usual. He stares blankly ahead, no emotion shown in his face. If only I could just show myself, even for just a minute, to tell him that I'm fine. That he doesn't have to worry about me. That none of them do.

Taking one last look at him, I glide down the same corridor that Nina did. Of course, I don't actually glide, that's just what you expect ghosts to do, isn't it?

I look down at myself and I'm not surprised to see that I look solid. Hesitantly, I try to pass my hand through my stomach. I instantly regret that decision.

The feeling… is too painful to describe. It's like, being winded. But a _lot _worse. My whole lower body, kind of disintegrates. Like gas, moving around a big space, but quickly forms into my legs again.

Continuing my journey through the hospital, I stop, seeing Mara, Jerome, Joy and Patricia. I see the backs of Eddie and Mick just before they go around the corner.

Mara and Jerome are cuddled up, she's stopped crying. Joy is sitting sideways on one of the plastic chairs, head thrown back and legs resting across Patricia who's slumped in her seat.

They're sitting in silence. As much as I love all of them, none of them are the person that I'm looking for.

Alfie.

Eventually, I find him sitting outside the hospital. I think that he's thrown up because there's a suspicious substance splattered on the floor next to him. He's sitting with his head facing down and in between his legs, I hear his gasping and spluttering. But, before I can approach him, he suddenly stands up. I step back a little, not knowing what he's going to do.

He storms inside, me hot on his heels. He runs down a long corridor, leading to the bathrooms. Unfortunately, he closed the door before I could run in after him. This causes me to run straight through it. That horrible feeling comes back.

But, I'm not worried about myself right now, what's Alfie doing.

He falls to his knees and starts sobbing into his hands. I come right forward until I'm kneeling down next to him. He wipes his eyes with the heels of his hands and gets up again, I follow. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a set of keys. I don't know who's they are since he can't even drive. He falls back against the wall and slides down it, the key poised at his wrist.

"ALFIE!" I scream, uselessly. "Alfie, no!"

He cries out, pushing it deeper against his skin, but not fully cutting it.

"Alfie, please, no. Don't do this!"

He begins to breath funny again, gasping for air. His body going slack, he falls to the floor, throwing the keys away.

Alfie rolls himself up on the floor, the tears still streaming down his face.

I gasp too, relieved, scared.

**Review! :)**

**P.S Theses chapters are all going to be short, it's not just me being lazy ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for the reviews, favourites and alerts! It means so much! I've gone back to school now, so the update's might be a little delayed but I'll try to get them up as soon as possible.**

Thankfully, Alfie has gone back to sit with the rest and has stopped crying. If I could, I would've given him a good slap around the head. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean he has to die too. But, I understand where he's coming from. I just wish I could tell him not to worry.

He's sat next to Patricia, staring blankly ahead. Nobody is talking to anyone, as if they've lost all ability to communicate. I notice that Fabian has also joined them, as have Eddie and Mick. However, Nina's still absent.

A horrible thought flashes through my mind. What if she's doing something silly, like Alfie did?

I try to dismiss it but… there's a big chance that it's true. Taking action, I jog down the corridor, wandering, clueless. Where did she go?

I find her outside in the car park, wandering aimlessly and muttering to herself.

"Should've been me. Should've been me. Should've been me." She's chanting.

My face scrunches, I watch her in shock. I'm furious, but I feel sorry for her at the same time. How can she think that?

I want to hug her, hug her tight and comfort her. What'll happen If I try? I debate for a while before reaching my arms around her and coming into contact with her arms.

Instead of that horrid feeling, a voice rings in my ear. I recognise it as Nina's but… her mouth isn't moving.

_Why Amber? _She's saying.

_Why couldn't it be me? Please. I want to turn back time. I can't. I can't._

Her voice echoes'. The sentences, over-lapping.

I finally realize that I'm listening to her thoughts. How is this happening? Then again, in this circumstance, I'm sure that anything could happen.

I look into her eyes and see the sorrow. The tears have stopped but, honestly, I find this far worse. Her eyes are empty and glassy, staring straight ahead.

After a lot more staring and doing nothing, she slumps inside, joining Fabian and the rest. I follow, making sure that she's safe.

Alfie is now being comforted by Joy, Eddie's crying silently and Mick has his head buried in his knee's. I sigh, my eyes drooping. Oddly, I feel somehow responsible for this. Well, I am really. The guilt is almost too much to handle.

I sit in the middle of them, wanting to see them all. Imagine, if I hadn't died, we'd all be headed off to Anubis in a couple of days.

Closing my eyes, I picture us all sitting around the dining table, talking and laughing.

And, suddenly, I'm there. I open my eyes, shocked to find myself seated in the middle of the table. I'm by myself but it feels much better than being in the hospital. I stand, walking around the house.

Coming out of my room, I decide to wander down to the cellar. I don't know why, I just want to.

The tunnels look exactly the same as we had left them, except, I notice, it's slightly… glimmering.

"Who are you?"

I jump, hearing a voice behind me. I spin around, coming face to face with a girl, around the same age as me. Her facial features are young but she seems, somehow, mature. Her sleek black hair fall down her shoulders, pulled to one side and her dark skin was without any blemishes.

"A-Amber." I stutter, too stunned to speak.

She smiles, her teeth shining. "I'm Nadine." Her voice is soft, angelic.

She sticks her hand out. I shake it, and, surprisingly, her hand is solid. She notices my confusion. She chuckles, lightly.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you everything." She says. "In time."

I nod. She beckons me further down the tunnels. "Come with me."

I hesitate slightly, before following closely behind her.

**Review, please :) Also, thanks to kelesyspirit who gave me the idea for this chapter. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

She leads me to a place in the tunnels that I didn't even know existed. She didn't say a word until we came to a dead end.

"I'm sure you're dying to know what's going on."

I smile a little at her joke and nod enthusiastically.

"Do you want the simple version?" she asks. I nod again because I probably won't understand the long story (and I'm sure there _is _a long, history-filled, boring story).

"Well, you died, you know that. But, you're special. If you've been left behind, you obviously have some un-finished business."

Ok, so I was getting this so far.

"You've got to help whoever you need to, and since you're here, I'm guessing that it's about the mask."

"How do you know about that?" I ask, curious.

"I used to go here. To this school and I was in this house." She smiles as she takes in her surroundings.

"How long ago? If you don't mind me asking."

"Actually, I was just a couple of generations before you. Mr. Sweet was Head teacher and Victor was still caretaker."

We chat for a while and after ten minutes, she starts telling me how she died.

"I wasn't a very good student; was always going off with my friends during lesson time. We weren't a gang exactly, but people were afraid of us. There was this one girl, Serena, kind of the leader. She went a bit too far and threatened another gang leader.

I nod, showing her that I understand.

"They had guns, the other gang. They shot Serena and me, but, I she didn't die."

I'm quite shocked; Nadine doesn't seem like the kind of girl to be caught up in gang business. I tell her this.

"I wasn't really part of it," she tells me. "I just tagged along sometimes. I regret that now." She looks down, deep in thought, sorrow in her eyes. I don't know if I should say something to comfort her but she snaps out of it.

"Anyway, let's get back to other things, shall we."

We carry on walking and somehow end up back upstairs, in the dining room. She sits down on one of the chairs and I follow, wanting to know more.

"First of all, tell me about how you have to do." She says, but I'm confused.

"I have absolutely no idea what I'm meant to do. I _just _died." I raise an eyebrow.

"No," she shakes her head. "How are linked with the mask, what did you have to do with it?"

I explain to her everything about SIBUNA and Nina being the chosen one. She listens intently.

"You were friends with the chosen one?" she gasps.

"Yep," I nod, kind of smugly although I didn't know why it was such a great thing.

"So, this ghost is still after you're friends?" she asks to clarify.

"Not exactly. We got to the mask eventually but she didn't get what she wanted. We didn't see her since then, but I'm not sure what's going to happen now. Actually, I wasn't even sure what was going on when I was alive…"

Nadine laughs, sensing that I'm not the smartest person she's met but I'm OK with that. I always knew I was dumb, I wasn't ashamed or anything.

"Anything else?" she asks.

My shoulders drop remembering Alfie. I don't even want to think about what I've done to him.

"My boyfriend." I say, looking down.

She nods, understanding.

"Is there anyway that I can make him see me?" I ask hopefully.

"No, I'm sorry." I can see the pity in her eyes. "Cheer up, you can still see him." She punches my shoulder lightly.

"Thanks." I say in a small voice.

"Him and all of your friends will recover eventually. They'll be fine." She smiles warmly.

I smile back, thankful for a friend.

**Sorry, for not updating in a while. I've been a bit busy with school and stuff. But, I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for the reviews! :)**


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